


The Wolf and the Hawk

by TheFlamingNymph



Series: Broody Porcupine Snapshots [6]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Parent-Child Relationship, SO MUCH FLUFF, loving family, story time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 11:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4563324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFlamingNymph/pseuds/TheFlamingNymph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Never one to fall asleep when she could be hearing stories, Lyall requests her father make up a story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wolf and the Hawk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TenderSquishy (AWalkonTheMoon)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWalkonTheMoon/gifts).



> There really is no excuse for this level of fluff, and yet, I'm not sorry. Takes place roughly 9:45 Dragon.

Of all the places he thought he would have ended up fifteen years ago when he had struck out for freedom, this wasn’t even on the list of possibilities. Yet, here he was in a bed that was too soft and too big, but so impossibly full. Hawke was sprawled as inelegantly as ever, one hand flung above her head, the other entwined in the short black locks of their younger daughter’s hair, who was slumbering against the growing swell of her mother’s stomach. The older of the duo was braced against his bent knee, her finger tracing the words in the book in his hand as he read to her.

“Another.” Lyall declared as the story ended, pinning him with her green eyes that were far too intelligent for all her seven years of age. “Please, Papa.”

“It’s late, little one. Mama and Wren are already asleep.” He was already starting to settle back himself, his eyelids starting to feel heavy with sleep.

“One more, Papa, please.”

“One last story. Which one would you like?”

“Make one up, like Uncle Varric does.” Her eyes lit up at the possibility, rocking forward and onto her knees until her nose was a bare inch from his. He rolled his eyes and chuckled under his breath, ruffling her hair until she settled back against his leg. “But no stupid princesses, okay? Those are baby stories for Wren. I’m a big girl.”

“Of course, no baby stories for you. Have I ever told you the story of the wolf and the hawk?”

“No, but you’re going to, right Papa?” She wiggled slightly in anticipation, stopping only once he nodded.

“There was once a very bad man, a mage of great wealth and power, and he feared his enemies, so he needed something to protect him. He pitted animals against themselves until a wolf stood victorious over them all. That mage then made the wolf obey his will by making the wolf forget what he was, turning him into nothing better than an attack dog, and the wolf no longer knew better.”

The girl puffed up indignantly. “The wolf should have just bit him and ran off. I would have.”

“But sometimes it’s not that simple, little one. The wolf couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t a guard dog, so he did the only thing he knew to do, which was to obey. But the wolf was separated from his master, and learned a bit of what it was to be free, so when his master came back, he did just that. He bit his master and ran off. He didn’t know where, but he ran.”

“Good. I like wolves. Especially smart wolves.”

“And this was a very smart wolf, but even the smartest of wolves needs help sometimes. His master was still looking for him, and had him cornered. That’s when he met the hawk. She was a very strange bird, and said very strange things, but she was also a nice hawk, and saw that the wolf needed help. She helped defeat the men the wolf’s master had sent after him. The wolf had nothing of value he could give to the hawk to repay her for her kindness, so he offered the only thing he had to give, his ability to be a guard dog.”

“How is a bird stronger than a wolf?”

“I never said the hawk was stronger.” One black brow lifted in question.

“The wolf wouldn’t need help if he were stronger than the hawk.” Her bottom jaw jutted out in stubborn defiance, a trait she must have picked up from her mother.

“Oh, the wolf was very strong, but he was outnumbered, and the hawk had friends of her own that helped as well. Anyways, the wolf had vowed to help the hawk in repayment for her help. The hawk had problems of her own, and the wolf found himself very busy fulfilling the vow he had made. It was many years before they encountered the wolf’s master again, and in that time, the wolf grew very fond of the hawk, and the hawk had grown very fond of the wolf. The wolf’s master offered the hawk a great deal of money if she would stand aside and allow him to take the wolf, but instead she attacked him instead. She helped the wolf fight his master, and win, and gave the wolf true freedom at last.”

“Hawks and wolves don’t fall in love, Papa, that’s just silly.” She shook her head and snorted, her nose crinkling across the bridge.

“They don’t, do they? Fenris, have we been imagining the children all this time? They can’t possibly exist if that’s the case.” Hawke yawned from beside him, one eye cracked open to a slit. She smiled as the tips of his ears turned pink.


End file.
